The electrician did show up at some point today, but certainly not "first thing" or even "second thing" in the morning. And he apparently left part-way through what he was doing, despite three days of promises that he would "finish it all tomorrow". Open items include:

Door bell (still) doesn't work

Under-cabinet light installation stopped literally half-way, with little screws sitting out for the cat to eat

Boxes of miscellaneous crap left on floor

Miscellaneous parts (light switches, an outlet, and assorted friends) sitting out on the counter by the range

Sawdust & bits of wires left IN THE SINK

Downstairs: Bag o' insulation, wires, and crap sitting on the bar

Downstairs: Miscellaneous lumber & debris in piles on the bar, behind the bar

Downstairs: Hey, look, more fiberglass insulation on the floor, in the sink, etc.!

The tune-up and clean-up people were here, and mostly did a good job, but-- Wouldn't you just know it-- What horrible luck they have-- I have an eye for details! You know, little things, like paint on my countertop, or a layer of funky schmutz on the countertop, or the magic marker mark on a cabinet door, or the fact that they never cleaned the range at all... They did align all of the cabinet doors and drawers, so that is an improvement, but major remaining irritants are the sliding door (which is in dire need of adjustment ever since it was stained--the wheels are out of whack and now the damn thing is a major fight to open), the screen for the sliding door (which was never installed, grumble!), and the dishwasher (which is not actually flush with the cabinets but instead at a slight angle, just enough to really drive me up the wall).

Oh, and did I mention that the flooring guys have to come out again to fix their previous two rounds of fuck-ups with the sealing? I'll be damned if I am going to let them off the hook with a room full of tiny bubbles and crap embedded in my beautiful wood floor.

I mean, I know it was a gorgeous day today, but come on... I worked late because I had things to get done, I can't be the only person on the planet with a work ethic!

And now for musings on Liz's airport adventures... It's been quite bizarre to follow them remotely, as her story of frustration slowly unfolds through shifting arrangements of tiny pixels on various computer screens.

About 20 minutes before I left work, I pulled up her flight details from United's website. At that time, she hadn't landed yet, and had a scant two minutes between the estimated arrival time and the departure of her connecting flight. Just 120 seconds (estimated) to deplane, change concourses through United's scary glowing tunnel of tinkly-muzak doom, and rush out to her gate on the crowded B concourse.

Right before I left for home, I refreshed again, and now she had seven minutes.

When I got home, her 5:50 flight had been bumped to 6:35 due to "crew," which I presume means that there wasn't one. And the gate had changed.

At 6:35 (7:35 Eastern), when she should have already departed, another refresh... And more changes: an 8:04 departure, "due to late arriving aircraft," and a gate change.

While writing my rant about the kitchen above, another refresh saw the time bump to 8:10, and another gate change. A phone call a few minutes later found her out at B20, deep in the heart of "Ted" country, United's pitiful attempt to be like Southwest.

(Goes to hit refresh...)

OMFG! They've moved her plane again (now to B9).

At least she's getting some exercise. Damn. I bet the 6-bottle carry-pack of wine is starting to get pretty heavy...

[Edit @ 20:51 EDT]: Now it's at 8:17... [/Edit]

So yeah... um... United sucks! Don't fly them! Even if they might be the cheapest fare! Vote with your almighty dollars (or analogous local currency)!

And, while we're here, big middle-finger shout-outs to all who deserve them, from talking-head TV news droids to dumbass politicians of all stripes... from Enron executives to people who could afford the BMW but not the turn signal... from those who promise but do not deliver to those who require the dumbest, wrongest solutions... Asshats of the world, this one's for you!